One's On The Way
by lcopperfield
Summary: Post-"Clambake" antics, via Speed's point of view. The boys are about to discover, they're going to soon have another sibling! NOW COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

_**Authors: **__lcopperfield & Janee Rutledge_

_**DISCLAIMER: **__We do not own Speed Racer. All Speed Racer characters are the property of Speed__Racer Enterprises, Inc. "One's On The Way" recorded by Loretta Lynn and re-released in 2005 ("The Definitive Collection")._

_**Authors' Note: **__Post-"Clambake" events, per Speed's point of view_.

"_**One's On The Way"**_

_**A Speed Racer Short Fanfic **_

_**C**__**hapter 1 A Whole Lotta Shaking Goin' On**_

_--The girls in New York City, they all march for women's lib_

_And Better Homes and Gardens shows, the modern way to live._

_And the Pill may change the world tomorrow, but meanwhile today_

_Here in Topeka, the flies are a-buzzin'_

_The dog is a-barkin' and the floor needs a scrubbin'_

_One needs a spankin' and one needs a huggin'_

_Lord, one's on the way._

_(Oh gee, I hope it ain't twins again!)--_

_---Loretta Lynn, "One's On The Way" (1971)---_

I should have expected, something like this was gonna happen.

Now, everyone who ever knew me knows, I'm a pretty respectful guy when it comes to other people's personal space. I certainly respect my parents' right to privacy, and what they do behind closed doors is generally none of my business. But the night Pops took Mom out to see "_Clambake"_ after Trixie and I had seen it the night before...

...Well, let's just say, there was an awful lot of rockin' and rollin' going on at our house that Saturday night. And no, I don't mean with Elvis blasting on the phonograph, either.

Let me clarifiy things a bit. You see, it was the weekend following the Great Trans-Country Race, and that messy kidnapping business with Jack Wiley. On Friday Racer X, Spritle, and our mom managed to trick Pops into letting me go with Trixie to the drive-in...Well, you know my Pops. He found out, and it didn't take him long to blow a gasket---until X (actually, my older brother _Rex_) admitted, it'd been _his_ idea all along to send me and Trixie to the movies! And Mom certainly got the last laugh in on Pops—she stuffed a humongous piece of apple pie into his mouth the minute he began sqawking at me. Way to go, Mom!

But it was the hearty endorsement of the King's film performance by Trixie and myself, that was the clincher. Right after that, Pops had decided to take Mom out on a "date" the next evening---and therein begins the real story.

I was still up when my parents came in around one in the morning. Trixie had left for her place about two hours before. Spritle and Chim Chim were already long gone to candy dreamland, leaving me alone in the living room by the cozy fire, curled up in Pops' favorite armchair with a good book in hand. "So. What'd ya think, Pops?" I asked eagerly, as he and Mom walked in through the front door. (I noticed that even as they came in, Pops and Mom were acting much the same way as Trixie and I did after a good movie---lots of snuggling, hand-holding, and generally acting like a pair of lovestruck teenagers!) "How did you and Mom like the movie?"

Pops was in very high spirits, a sure sign that he had enjoyed himself. "Ha! Son, that was the best recommendation, you've ever given us!" he boomed out, helping Mom with her coat and hanging the garment on a nearby coatrack. "Your mother and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. And you were right about the King, Speed. Elvis was in fine form...as usual." Pops paused, and a big grin lit up his normally-ruddy face. "You know, Mother, it sort of reminded me of our courting days..."

Mom just smiled knowingly at him, and winked. It wasn't often my parents opened up and talked about their private lives in front of us kids, but when they did it was usually fascinating to hear their take on how being a teen now, differed from say, being a teen in the 1930's and 40's.. "Oh, yes. The drive-in, and the rumble seat of your father's car," she teased. "I loved that old rumble seat..."

My dad eyed her wryly. I noticed that Pops was blushing, ever so slightly. "Yeahh. I did, too," I heard him say with a small chuckle. "It's too bad my pops went and sold it, though. That car was perfect, for going up to Inspiration Point."

"Yes. And wasn't it because your younger sister Angela tattled on the two of us one time? While we were ummm....'Rumbling' around in the back seat?" Mom interjected, wincing ever so slightly at the memory.

The blush on my dad's face got even brighter. "I'd rather not remember that," he muttered, half under his breath. "I never did forgive Angela for squealing on us..."

I fought to suppress a smirk. I could just see it, Grandpa Racer reading Pops and Mom the riot act for making out in the back seat of his car while Aunt Angela got away with tattling just because she could...Hmmm, now that sounds awfully familiar. Reminds me of a certain baby brother of mine.

Don'tchya just _looove, _younger siblings???

At length, talk turned to other matters. "Speed? How was Spritle tonight?" Mom asked, before we all trooped upstairs for the night. "Did he behave himself?"

I nodded. "Yes, Mom. Trixie left about eleven, and Spritle and Chim Chim were both asleep long before she left," I replied casually.

Pops loudly cleared his throat, highly pleased. "Well, that's good! Now I think it's time for bed, it's well after one-fifteen. And Speed, don't forget. _You're _cooking dinner tomorrow night...and you'd better do it right or no racing for you next weekend!" With that dire warning, Pops started upstairs. Mom followed right behind. "Good night, son."

I stood at the bottom of the stairs, red-faced and swallowing hard. Boy, even after having a good time at the movies tonight...Pops just HAD to rub that into me! "'Night, Mom. 'Night, Pops."

I clicked my heels together, then made a dash up the stairs to my room and bed.

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Soon enough, the last lights in the house went out, and everyone settled down for a good night's sleep. Or so I thought.

It wasn't unusual for Mom and Pops to stay up a little later than the rest of the family, oftentimes sitting in bed and discussing the events of the day before formally retiring. Most nights, nobody paid any attention to the low conversation coming from their master bedroom. And I highly doubt I would've paid much attention to what was going on, if it hadn't been for a tiny knock at my bedroom door around two-thirty Sunday morning. _"Speed?---Speed? Are you awake?"_

At that, I let out a very sleepy groan. _Spritle!! Now what does he want?? _I rolled under my covers, and tried to ignore him as best I could. The little fellow was persistent, however, and eventually I gave up on the idea of getting a good night's sleep. Groggily I crawled out of bed, turned on my over-the-bed lamp, then made it over to the door and opened it. "Spritle. Do you know, it's two-thirty in the morning?" I mumbled. "What are you doing up at this ungodly hour??"

A cross-looking, pajama-clad Spritle stood in the hall, his chubby little arms folded across his chest. For a moment, I was surprised that Chim Chim wasn't with him, but then I realized that my little brother probably had to do some little boy business and that the chimp was most likely asleep. "I had to go to the bathroom. But now I can't get back to sleep. There's too much noise," he complained.

I blinked my eyes, puzzled. "Huhh?? Too much noise--??"

My little brother pouted. "Speed, don't you hear all that squeaking and rocking, and such? It's coming from Mom and Pops' room!" Spritle said, tugging at my pajama sleeve. "You gotta come with me, and have a listen!" Still tugging on my sleeve, he urged me to come with him.

Truth be told, I didn't feel it was right to intrude on our parents like this, and I told Spritle just that. "You know, Spritle. It's not polite, to spy on Mom and Pops," I began, peering out into the corridor from the safety of my room. "What they do behind closed doors, is none of our business--"

Well, if there was one thing that Spritle was good at (besides, looking for a candy or sweet bribe!), it was looking downright innocent. And he was definitely playing that attribute, for all it was worth. "Spying?" he echoed, looking up at me with such innocent wonder. "We're not spying, Speed. I'm just proving to you, there's noise and it's keeping me awake!"

I just shrugged my shoulders, and made a face. "Whatever you say, Spritle. Whatever you say."

Cautiously, Spritle and I tip-toed our way from my room, down the hall towards our parents' bedroom. As we approached, I quickly heard what my baby brother was trying to tell me: that room sure was rockin' and a-rollin' all right, and it didn't take me long to figure out that we had no right being there. Mom and Pops' bed was DEFINITELY noisy----squeaking back and forth (LOUDLY, I might add!)...Pops was definitely in a romantic mood, and I swear I even heard Mom, and she sounded like she was in ecstasy. _"Ohh, Dragon....," _I distinctly heard her moan. _"I so love it when you get all romantic like this..."_

But it was the laughter and Pops' sly comment that really convinced me, we were definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time. _"I salute you!"_

Immediately, I tried to stifle a horrified gasp. And I thought, Elvis got me and Trixie going--! At once, I moved to put my hands over Spritle's ears. Naturally, he squawked. "Hey! Speed, what's the big Idea---???"

I made a face. "Really, Spritle. You shouldn't be hearing this!"

Spritle threw me a dirty look, and yanked my hands away from his ears. "So? It's probably no different than when you make 'pillow talk' to Trixie," he shot back, and I felt myself blush with embarrassment. "Besides, if Mom and Pops keep this up, we're gonna end up with another sibling!"

Boy, did I ever wince at that pointed comebacker! Spritle might only be an eight-year-old, but he was as sharp as a tack on some things. Nothing escaped his eye, it seemed—or, his ears. "SPRI-TLLE!!!!" I hissed, glaring at him. "Not now!!! Hush it, will you???"

Too late! Whatever romantic overtures were going on inside our parents' room, they were quickly dispelled by our careless bickering outside. As she and Pops snuggled under the bedcovers, Mom suddenly bolted upright in bed, startled. She looked alarmingly towards the bedroom door, then hastily smoothed out her pink silk nightgown. Pops, naturally, was still in romance land. "Dragon, stop!" she suddenly exclaimed in a soft voice, gently shaking her husband's shoulder. "Did you hear something out in the hallway?"

That certainly got our dad's attention in a hurry. "Huh? Did you say something, dear?" Pops murmured, still in a half-dreamy state.

"I said, I think there's someone out in the hall..."

Instantly, Pops sat up and glanced towards the door. His eyes narrowed, as he could hear me frantically imploring Spritle to "be quiet!" He drew a sharp, highly-annoyed breath, then emitted one of his infamous low growls. "Hmm! I think certain pairs of ears are at our door, instead of being in their beds where they belong!" Pops fumbled with the switch on the lamp next to his side of the bed, then turned it on. He rose from the bed, and fetched his robe from the huge walk-in closet. "Excuse me, dear. I'll be right back."

Mom nodded. "Thank you, dear. But don't take too long," she replied, with a wink that meant, she was still quite "in the mood."

Pops just grunted. "Don't worry. I won't be."

The footsteps coming from within told Spritle and me, we had alerted the "Dragon" to our presence. Boy, would we ever be in _big-ggg_ trouble, if Pops caught us anywhere near his and Mom's bedroom! "Gee! Now you've done it, Spritle!" I snapped in a low, irritated voice, as we stood frozen in place by the sudden turn of events. "Pops is on to us!"

Spritle's saucer-like brown eyes widened. "Me!!!" he croaked hoarsely. "It was YOUR big mouth, Speed---!!!"

I winced. "Oh, be quiet!"

Suddenly, a familiar roar shattered the moment. "SPEEEEED???!!! SPRI-TLE???!!! IS THAT YOU OUT THERE???!!!"

Spritle and I exchanged alarmed looks. Ohh, boy, We sure woke the dragon, all right. When Pops used that loud, blustery tone of voice on us, we knew it was time for us to vamoose—and fast. "Quick! We gotta get back to my room!" I said, nearly panic-stricken. Without further fuss I scooped my protesting little brother up under my arm like a football, and beat a hasty retreat back to my room. Naturally, Spritle tried to squawk and complain, but I playfully clamped a hand over his mouth and kept it covered until we were safely back inside the confines of my bedroom.

Once inside the room, I unceremoniously dumped my baby brother onto my bed. "Hey!!! Watch it!" Spritle yowled, at the same time giving me the evil eye. "I'm not a football, you know...!"

"Be quiet! We need Pops to think, we're still asleep!" I snapped back in a low voice. "Or do you want him breathing down our necks for this? And the punishments he'll give us this time, will be worse that what we got for the spaghetti prank!"

At that, Spritle's saucer-like brown eyes widened. "Worse??" he repeated, somewhat fearful at the thought.

I glared at him. "Yes, worse. A whole lot worse!"

Suddenly, there was a light knock at my door. Light, yet still hard enough to recognize it as that of our dad. _"Speed? Are you awake?" _I heard Pops call out a few minutes later.

A worried Spritle looked up at me. "It's Pops! What'll we do now?" he cried out.

I thought things over for a moment. I began to frantically scan my bedroom, looking around for a place that I could stuff my brother into. Seeing my still-open closet, I got an idea. "Quick! Hide in my closet!" I hissed, abruptly shoving a surprised Spritle into it before he could protest. I shut the door as quietly as I could, hurriedly jumped back under my bedcovers, turned off the lamp over my bed and made like I was still asleep.

Just in time, too, I might add. No sooner had I closed my eyes than I heard my bedroom door creak open. Moments later my father stuck his head into the room. "Speed? Are you still up?--Hmm. I guess not!" He withdrew his head, muttering something about "checking in on Spritle next."

The room fell silent. Then as soon I was sure that Pops was out of earshot, I let a very nervous Spritle out of my closet. "Whew! That was a close one," the little boy breathed, stepping out into the middle of my room. He was definitely relieved, to be out of my closet. "All those white pants of yours, were beginning to suffocate me!"

I winced. "Very funny! But it's not over yet, Spritle. He's going to check on you next!"

Instantly, a look of alarm filled my little brother's eyes. "So what do I do now, Speed?"

"Just go out into the hall, as if you were coming from the bathroom," I replied softly. "If Pops sees you and asks what you're doing up, you just tell him you had to use the little boys' room."

Almost instantaneously, the look on Spritle's face went from alarm to glee in one swoop. "That's perfect!" he declared happily, rubbing his hands together. "Thanks, Speed. You're the bestest big brother, I've ever had." Without wasting another minute, Spritle pounced on me and gave me a great big hug.

I merely groaned. All I wanted to do now, was to go back to bed and think about Trixie! "Thank you! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to bed—while it's quiet. I don't wanna be asleep on my feet tomorrow when I have to carry out the rest of my 'sentence.'" With that, I jumped back into bed, and hastily pulled the covers up over my head. I'd be darned, if I let my brother's shenanigans wake me up again...

Sadly for me, however, a good night's sleep in my own bed was not meant to be. About a half-hour or so later, Spritle was back at my door with the same complaint---only this time, he had Chim Chim in tow. _**"Speed!! They're doing it again!!!"**_

I rolled over onto my side, and emitted an annoyed, very grumpy groan. "Ohhh!!!...Spritle, give it up. Go back to bed!" I muttered, half under my breath.

Still, my brother wouldn't be satisfied until I let him in. "I can't get back to sleep! Mom and Pops are rocking their bed again. Which in turn woke me up, and made me kick poor Chim Chim in the behind and made HIM wake up...!!!" As if to confirm Spritle's story, on the other side of the door Chim Chim hooted softly and repeatedly rubbed his backside in the very spot where Spritle's bare foot had made contact.

Still half-asleep, I stumbled out of bed—again!---and let the duo in. Even as I did so, I could hear our parents' very loud bed squeaking coming from down the hall. Spritle was right---there was no way, we'd get any sleep up here. "All right. That does it," I murmured. I grabbed a couple of pillows off my bed, and tossed them to Spritle and Chim Chim. "Here, you two. Catch!"

"Oof!!!" Spritle grunted. "What's with the pillows, Speed?"

"There's only one place, where we can get a decent night's sleep around here. To the Mach!" I gathered up my bedcovers, then quietly led my little brother and Chim Chim out into the hall. Down the hall we crept, pillows and blankets in hand...Down the stairs and into the kitchen...then through the door that led into the garage. I flicked the switch to turn on the garage lights, and grinned broadly as Spritle, Chim Chim and I gazed on the Mach 5. "Okay, Spritle. The trunk is all yours," I sang out, a big grin on my face. "I claim the front seat!"

Spritle giggled, and Chim Chim hooted in glee. "We'll gladly take the trunk!"

Well, that's how we spent the rest of the night. Spritle and Chim Chim curled up in the Mach 5's trunk, and me sprawled out across the front seats, my pillows propped up against the passenger door. It's kinda funny now, how we managed to eventually get some much-needed sleep in the Mach 5 without alerting our parents....

....Now I think I'm beginning to see why, Pops blames me and Elvis for what came after that.

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	2. Chapter 2

_**Authors' Note: **__According to various Speed Racer-related Websites, Mom Racer's proper first name in Japanese was "Aya." Therefore, we decided to use "Aya" as Mom's first name._

_Also, on those same sites Pops' given English first name was "Lionel," so we opted to use that __for Pops._

_Also, thank you Silverblue-Sakura, for your suggestions and advice._

_**Chapter 2 Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Racer**_

Come the next morning, there was quite a hue and cry about the house. Mom and Pops couldn't find me, Spritle, and Chim Chim anywhere upstairs. Or downstairs, for that matter.

Before you can say, "Why am I not surprised by that?" let me say this. Normally, Sunday mornings in our family tended to be a little on the chaotic side to begin with. Mom would make her famous pancakes and sausage for Sunday breakfast, then the whole family would troop off to church services. Sometimes Trixie would join us, but most times it'd be just the family. (This routine held true, especially on non-race days). A nice leisurely lunch would follow, then everyone went off to whatever activities were deemed appropriate. For me, that usually meant a long, relaxing drive along the coast with Trixie, but since on this particular Sunday the Mach 5 was still technically off-limits to me (I sure hope Pops'll forgive me for sleeping in my car last night!), most likely I'd be sitting down with my father watching whatever racing program there was on TV at the moment, before I had to make that dreaded spaghetti dinner later that evening.

Of course, Spritle and I hadn't counted on Mom raising the alarm when she discovered around 7 AM, our beds were empty...

According to my mother (she had related this story to me and Trixie much later, after all the craziness of the day had subsided and I had successfully passed Pops' "cooking exam"), this is what happened while Spritle and I had our little "camp-out" in the Mach 5. While our dad was getting dressed for church Mom had, as was her custom each and every Sunday, taken it upon herself to rouse the rest of the family from its slumber. She went from room to room, knocking on our doors and calling out to us as she did so. _"Boys! Time to get up! Rise and shine, sleepyheads, I'm starting breakfast. We don't want to be late for church--"_

No answer from either of our rooms. Frowning, and a bit puzzled by our lack of response, Mom tried again. "_Speed? It's seven o'clock, sweetie. Up and at 'em, or the pancakes'll get cold!"_

Still, no reply. The frown on Mom's face deepened. _That's odd. Usually those two are the first_ _to race into the kitchen for breakfast, _she murmured, to no one in particular.

She pushed open the door to my room._ "Speed?--Speed, honey. Are you awa--"_

Suddenly, she stopped mid-sentence and let out a loud gasp. Mom gaped in shocked horror at my empty, stripped bed, taking note of the fact that most of my bedding was missing. For a fleeting moment, memories of my run-in with Jack Wiley and the Alpha Team the previous weekend came rushing back to her. "_DRAGONNN...!!!!"_ my mother screamed, quaking with fear and anxiety.

Out in the hall, our dad had just emerged from the master bedroom, dressed and ready for church. For the most part, he was in a very jovial mood. (Well, after the night he and Mom had as a couple, why wouldn't he be??) His mood quickly changed, however, upon hearing our mother's screams. A few minutes later Pops caught sight of his extremely frantic wife hurrying towards him. _"Whoa, Aya dear!_ _What's the matter now?"_

Immediately, Mom reached out shakily for her husband. _"It's Speed. He's missing!"_ she gasped, as Pops took her into his arms and attempted to calm her down. _"He's gone. His bedding, too!"_

I guess Pops must've been still too jittery over last week's events, because Mom said she'd never seen his jowls drop so fast. _"Whaaat??!!! _Speed's, _whaat???" _had been my dad's initial reaction. (I don't doubt for a minute, he had his usual bug-eyed red-faced expression too.)

_"You heard me, Dragon. He's gone! Come inside, and see for yourself!"_ A trembling Mom clutched at our father's arm, and led him into my bedroom, where she showed him my stripped-down bed. _"Now do you see, what I'm talking about??"_

Now you all have seen time and time again, how quickly my Pops can blow up and jump to all sorts of irrational conclusions at times. Believe me, it's nothing new for me to get chewed out by Pops for some ridiculous thing or another—witness the results of last week's prank war between me and Spritle, as an example. (I'm _still_ paying for that battle, mind you!) But as he surveyed my room, for some odd reason my father refused to even consider the possibility that I'd been kidnapped again. Which was just as well, considering that I hadn't been kidnapped at all. _"Now, honey. Let's calm_ _down, and think clearly about this," _had been my father's gentle reply. _"Did you think to check Spritle's room this morning?"_

Mom nodded anxiously. _"I knocked, but no one answered. Usually by this time, Spritle and Chim Chim are goofing off in there."_

At length, Mom's tale had prompted Pops to go have a look around in my brother's room. Going in, he saw nothing that looked out of place. Which of course, didn't surprise him much.

What did surprise him, though, was that there was no Spritle. Or, Chim Chim.

He returned to my room a few minutes later, scratching his head in bewilderment. _"I don't understand it. Nothing's missing in Spritle's room except for Spritle and Chim Chim," _Pops mused.

Mom went on to say that at that point, she had begun to shake, and managed to cry out anxiously to Pops. _"Oh, Dragon. What do you think, could've happened?"_

Pops had been quick to put a comforting arm around her shoulders, and hugged her warmly. I guess by now he'd begun to suspect the true nature of our er, "disappearance"; and I can only imagine that infamous scowl of his making itself known. _"I don't know, honey. But let's not jump to any conclusions just yet. I have a sneaking hunch, those boys are somewhere in this house. Think about it, Aya. They were definitely prowling about last night, and I ahhh..." _No doubt, that scowl on Pops' face hadn't stayed there very long. It'd probably turned into a nice shade of red when he realized, the obvious. _"...Heh, heh. I think we were a little too romantic last night, for the boys' liking."_

That had seemed to put Mom at ease. A small, bemused smile broke at the corners of her mouth, and she could only shake her head. To think that maybe her and Pops' bedroom antics had been so noisy, they'd actually driven me and Spritle to seek out another place to sleep...!!! _"You really think, that's what happened?" _she had queried, with a light laugh.

_"Think so?? I know so! It makes perfect sense to me.---We'll just blame this, on Elvis and Speed," _Pops chortled, with a satisfied chuckle. _"Now, dear. Why don't you go start breakfast? I'll go see if I can find the boys. If, the smell of your cooking doesn't draw them out first!"_

That smug comment of his had elicited a laugh from our mother then. Yeah, she and Pops knew me and Spritle like a book. Forget racing to the table—mention pancakes, and we'd come flying to the table! _"That...will usually do it. Especially when they know, it's pancakes and sausage that's on the menu."_

_"Well, if that doesn't do it...then I don't know what will. Except for getting Trixie over here, maybe," _had been Pops' devious reply. _"Come on, let's go downstairs."_

They had come downstairs at that point, and well, to make a long story short. We honestly didn't mean to throw a scare into our parents that morning but doggone it, they sure had taken rock 'n rollin' to new heights last night, and Spritle and I needed to sleep! So while Mom went about her usual kitchen duties, Pops had begun a thorough search of the house for us, although I think it'd never occurred to him to check the garage---until Mom suggested he do so.

Picking up the rest of the story...I recall that it had to be close to eight o'clock, when I thought I heard the screen door connecting the kitchen to the garage open. I was just starting to wake up, and believe me, when it comes to sleeping I'd rather have my bed than the front seat of my racecar—more leg room, and no steering column or gearshift to deal with! Of course, the smell of freshly-made pancakes wafting through the open door was motivation enough, for me to yawn and stretch...

But then...the sound of my father's gravelly-pitched voice was enough to make me cringe. Pops had come back to the kitchen, and judging from his tone of voice he was not very happy with me and Spritle. Although Mom was trying her best to smooth things over; after all, I heard her remind Pops, it'd been their after-hours "activity" last night, that sent us packing in the first place! _"And, besides. It's time for the boys to get up and dressed. These pancakes won't stay hot for long..."_

_"Well, I hope for their sake, they're in the garage." _

I was still lazing among my pillows and thinking of Trixie, not expecting to be awakened by the bullhorn that was our dad. "AHA!!!! THERE YOU ARE!!! CAUGHT YOU RED-HANDED!!!...SPEED?? WHAT'D I TELL YOU ABOUT, GETTING NEAR THE MACH 5 BEFORE I GAVE YOU PERMISSION--???" Pops suddenly bellowed in my ear, leaning in over the passenger door to do so.

Well, I don't have to tell you much about what happened next. Startled, I let out a yell. Spritle let out a yell from inside the trunk. Chim Chim screeched as loudly as he could, and the garage suddenly became a madhouse. On top of that, as I wildly thrashed about my leg banged up against the steering column and hit the horn button. If the sound of Pops' booming voice right in my ear didn't fully wake me up me right then and there, the horn sure did...! "YAAAAAAHHHH!!!!" I yelped, over the God-awful noise that was the Mach's horn.

So much for a quiet Sunday. Goodbye sleep, hello insanity!

And, Pops? You've GOT to do something about the Mach 5's horn!!!

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It didn't take us long to forget about our parents' "wild night," as I soon resumed my racing ways. At least, for the time being.

You could say, I went on a bit of a tear in the weeks that followed. Starting with the Western 500 two weeks after the Wiley incident I proceeded to win three of the next four races, getting edged out at the Detroit Grand Prix by a fellow rookie, Felipe Arroyo. (Felipe's a great guy---bit of a ham, but being from Mexico City he just loves a _fiesta, _where he can oftentimes show off his authentic Mexican cooking skills_. _And even if there's no good excuse for a party---believe me, he'll find a way to make one! More on Felipe and some of the other rookies in my class later.) And Pops was happy---Racer Motors was swiftly gaining recognition in the racing world as a result of my string of victories.

So, roughly about a month and a half passed. Life is good for us Racers, you would think. Right?

Uh-uh. Not to be.

There was an unexpected blip on the radar. And it was called, "Mom."

Not that the changes were really outrageous. They were definitely subtle at first. Pops, Spritle and I all noticed for some time now, Mom had been eating more than she normally would...I'm not entirely sure, but I think she may have gained a few pounds because of it. And she seemed to be getting headaches and upset stomachs a lot more frequently, too.

Not to mention unusually short-tempered, and very moody.

But it was after the Alpine Race, that we all (Trixie and Sparky included) started to feel the effects of those changes. In fact, things started to heat up the day I was to take Trixie, Spritle and Chim Chim to a local carnival.

I recall, it'd been a Saturday morning. It had started out innocently enough—breakfast, followed by the usual daily chores. Only, Mom wasn't feeling all that hot, and the first person to feel her sting that day was Pops. As I hefted a load of clean laundry back to my room, I could hear her nagging at our father over something very trivial—he'd been in the garage, doing an oil change on the family car and upon coming into the kitchen he'd managed to track oil all over the newly-washed kitchen floor!-- and boy, something was definitely off when she addressed Pops by his Christian name. _"Lionel Racer!!! I just got done doing the kitchen floor, and YOU'RE tracking all that oil in from the garage??!!!!"_

Then, I heard Pops' very defensive reply. Judging from his tone of voice, Mom sure had his number--! _"But Aya, honey! The family car needed an oil change--!"_

_"Ohh, no! You're not walking in here on my newly-waxed floor like that. You go right back in the garage, and take off those oily shoes of yours! Then you can come back in!"_

_"Oh, now, honey..."_

_"DRAG-GONNNN---!!!!! OUT!!!! NOW!!!!"_

Okay, that was enough to give me the heebie-jeebies. Mom was usually mild-mannered and rarely raised her voice to any of us unless we really pushed her to her limit (think back to the yarn-in-the-spaghetti prank between Spritle and myself last month). But just her tone of voice...Hoo! I cringed as I quietly crept back into my room.

Once inside, I set the basket of clothes on my bed and shook my head. I decided at length, to just stay put until the storm blew over.

Now, you'd think I'd be safe from my mother's wrath, right? I mean, I did my usual chores, and then some that morning. And I was certainly looking forward to spending the afternoon with Trixie at the carnival, although that meant we'd have to take Spritle and Chim Chim along with us. Still, the idea of spending the day with my favorite girl overrode any worry that I had about my mom.

Well...that was before I knocked heads with Mom.

Trixie was supposed to meet me at the house around noon. I had just finished putting away the remainder of my clean clothes, and was scurrying downstairs. "Come on, Spritle! Trixie'll be here, any minute now!"

"Coming, Speed!" A few minutes later, the scampering of little feet in the stairwell told me, my little brother and Chim Chim were on their way down.

As we rushed into the living room, we were stopped dead in our tracks by a familiar but VERY irritated voice. _"SPEED RACER?? WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING, YOUNG MAN???"_

"Ahhhh!!!!" Spritle squawked, his big brown eyes widening in alarm. "Speed! Mom sounds kinda mad with you!"

I swallowed hard. First, she got on Pops. Now, she was gunning for me! "Uh...I'm waiting for Trixie, Mom. She and I are taking Spritle and Chim Chim to the carnival this afternoon. Don't worry, all my chores are done--"

"Did I say, you could go to the carnival??" In walked Mom, looking a little annoyed with me for some odd reason.

For a moment, I stood rooted to my spot, a look of shock registering on my face. I couldn't believe this---Mom wasn't going to let us go out for the afternoon?? "But, Mom. You and Pops both said last week, we could take Spritle. And we both promised him--!" I began to protest.

I don't know what I said or did to cross her, but our mother certainly was on the warpath. "Now, I'll not hear any of your sass, young man! I don't recall, giving you permission to take your brother to the carnival!" she snapped, literally giving me the evil eye. "Nor do I recall, saying that Trixie could come over—!" Mom was so intent on yelling at me, neither of us heard the doorbell. Trixie had arrived, totally unaware of the firestorm erupting inside our house. "Get to your room, this instant!"

I realized then, something wasn't right with my mom. It was weird---Mom never blew up so easily over my seeing Trixie! Biting my lower lip, I meekly submitted to her demand. "Yes, ma'am."

I nodded to my baby brother. "C'mon, Spritle. Let's go play a board game or something," I murmured, visibly shaken.

A very unhappy Spritle shuffled up the stairs behind me. "Gee! And I was hoping to try my luck at one of those toss games," he pouted. Neither of us noticed the soft sobbing coming from Mom as she went to let Trixie into the house.

Spritle and I had just settled down for a game of 'Parchesi' when Mom came up about ten or so minutes later. "Speed? May I come in, honey?"

Spritle and I both looked up. "Huh? Oh sure, Mom."

She came into my room. She was was much calmer now, but we could tell by the red under her eyes that she'd been crying. "Mom? Are you okay?" I inquired, concerned. "What's wrong?"

Nodding, Mom came over to the bed, and sat down. Hastily, I picked up the game board and set it on my nightstand. Then, Spritle and I both took our places on either side of her, and gave her the biggest hug that either of us could. "I-I'm all right now. I just wanted to apologize to you, Speed. I don't know what got into me this morning, telling you that you couldn't go to the carnival with Trixie. I...I just haven't been feeling myself lately."

At that, I just smiled and shook my head. "Aw, Mom, it's okay. I had a feeling, something wasn't right," I replied softly. "You and Pops did okay it when I first brought up the subject last week--"

"I know, dear. And I do recall telling you last night, to make sure that both you and Spritle completed your chores before going out today." Mom leaned over, and lightly kissed my forehead. "Now, Trixie'll be back in a few minutes. She kindly volunteered to run to the corner store for me---for some odd reason, I'm craving pickles and pistachio ice cream!"

Instantly, Spritle and I looked at each other, totally baffled. Well, this was certainly a new twist to the day! "Pickles and pistachio ice cream...!!" my baby brother repeated, his eyes going as wide as saucers at the thought. Then, he made a weird face. "Yuck!!!"

I fought back a smirk. Pickles and ice cream?? The last time I saw Mom eating that combination was when she was pregnant with Spritle---and she's no fan of pickles, to begin with! "Oo...kkay," I said, wrinkling up my nose. "Whatever you say, Mom."

"Well, have a good time this afternoon. I think that while you three are at the carnival, I'm going to wait for your father to come home for lunch, then I'm going to make an appointment with Dr. Wilson," Mom said after all was said and done. Spritle and I heartily agreed with this idea---we couldn't stand to see our mother in this much distress and who knows, maybe she did have a bug or something. "But I want you boys, to do one thing for me while you're at the carnival."

"What's that, Mom?" Spritle asked eagerly, his eyes alight at the prospect of going to the carnival after all.

Mom chuckled, and winked at us. "If you find some of those big dill pickles...bring me home one or two? Oh, and a thing of cotton candy..." On and on Mom went, listing almost an entire grocery list of things to get.

Spritle and I just rolled our eyes. Okay, this was definitely NOT Mom! But then, we certainly weren't about to argue with her now that she was in a good mood again. "Got it! 'Bye, Mom!"

Trixie had just returned from the store and was heading back outside when Spritle, Chim Chim and I all came racing down the stairs into the living room. "Hey, Trix!" I called out breathlessly.

Trixie turned around. "Oh, Speed! There you are!" she exclaimed happily. "Are you boys ready to go?"

I made a face. "We almost didn't get to go..."

"I know. Your mom told me what happened." Trixie nodded towards her convertible. "Come on. We'll take my car."

On the way to the carnival, Trixie and I discussed the incident with my mom. "I dunno, Trixie. I can't understand it," I mused, as we cruised along the open highway. "Mom just kinda...Well, you know. Blew up at me for no reason, and for a while I thought we weren't gonna be going out today!"

Trixie nodded. "I know. Your mom was crying when I came in, and she told me the whole story," she replied. "That's why, I volunteered to go get her some pickles and pistachio ice cream."

"Yeah, and what's with that? The pickles and ice cream, I mean. " I grimaced. "Trixie. You know my mom normally doesn't like pickles. The last time I saw her even touch a pickle, was when she was pregnant with Spritle!" I paused, then suddenly winced as a rather unusual thought popped into my mind, "Do you think, my mother could be..._Pregnant_???"

She laughed. "Well, it's not that common among women her age but I suppose it's possible..."

Spritle and Chim Chim, meanwhile, sat in the back seat, listening to our conversation. "Uh-oh! I was right, Chim Chim. I was right! There was enough rockin' 'n rollin' in their bed that night, to make us another sibling!" my little brother blurted out excitedly, and Chim Chim hooted softed with pleasure.

Hearing that, I swung around in my seat, highly annoyed. "Spritle! You cut that out, now! We don't know anything for sure," I hissed, through clenched teeth. "And if you don't knock it off—I'll have Trixie turn right around and take you home!"

Spritle's face went completely white at my implied threat. "NO!!! N-Nooo!!! Don't do that, Speed. I don't wanna be left with a cranky, possibly pregnant Mom--!!!" he wailed plaintively.

Trixie and I both comically rolled our eyes, and groaned loudly in dismay. Out of the mouth of babes...! "Ulhhhh!!! SPRI-TLE!!!!"

Little did we know, he was actually right on this count.

___________________________________________________________________________________


	3. Chapter 3

_And now, the conclusion of "One's On The Way"..._

_**Chapter 3 Warning: Baby Racer Under Construction!**_

To put things really in perspective, we all had a grand time at the carnival that Saturday afternoon. The color, the sights, and sounds of it all were worth the wait: the screams of delight and excitement coming from the various rides...The sounds of carnival booth workers, hawking their wares and/or enticing visitors to "try their luck" at the various carnival games...And the food—oh! The intermingling scent of fried dough, hamburgers and hot dogs, and other standard carnival fare sure made my mouth water, and for a brief moment I was thankful to be just Speed Racer the goofy lovestruck teenager, and not Speed Racer, up-and-coming Formula One racing star. "Ahh!!! Trixie, where do we start?" I exclaimed, inhaling deeply as the four of us (Trixie, myself, Spritle and Chim Chim) strolled past a fried dough booth. "Everything smells so good--!"

Trixie smiled, her green eyes shining with excitement and pleasure. There was nothing I liked better than to have my favorite navigator/spotter by my side, and for the time being thoughts of my mother's bizarre moment of moodiness were pushed to the rear of my mind as I heard my girl reply to my rather goofy question. "Well, for starters, Speed. Maybe we ought to pony up for some of those goodies right now," Trixie joked, beaming. "I rather fancy a fried dough, myself."

"Me and Chim Chim'll take a caramel apple!" Spritle suddenly interjected.

Trixie and I both made a strange face at him. "I should've known that was coming," I muttered, as I looked towards the caramel apple booth that was next to the fried dough stand. "All right, you two. Spritle, here's some money. Go get your caramel apples, then meet us back at the fried dough booth. Trixie and I are gonna have us some fried dough." I pulled out my wallet, and handed my younger brother a ten-dollar bill.

Spritle's eyes lit up like a set of Christmas tree lights. "Gotchya! Thanks, Speed!" he hollered, before he and Chim Chim skipped off to find their gooey treat. Trixie and I stood there and watched, shaking our heads in amusement. The things my baby brother and the family chimp would do, just to get a sweet treat--!

But then again. How many times had those two pests pulled my hide out of a real fix, just by being in the trunk of the Mach 5 at the right moment???

We strolled around the grounds for a while, enjoying our treats and taking in the sights. At length, a certain booth attracted my attention. The group manning it was selling both leather goods and handcrafted sterling silver jewelry, and already I felt the seeds of a wild idea coming on. "Hey, guys. Hold up a minute," I said, darting my eyes furtively back at the craft booth.

Trixie looked up, slightly puzzled. "Huh? What's the matter, Speed?"

I just grinned ludicrously. "You'll see!" I teased, and away I dashed off.

You see, a few birthdays were coming up—Mom's and Trixie's in particular, and I'd gotten the notion of buying some nice jewelry for the women. As for Pops and Spritle—Pops needed a new wallet, and I wanted to get Spritle one of his very own. "Can I help you with something, young man?" the matronly booth-keeper inquired, noticing me standing in front of the table and examining some of the exquisite sterling silver necklaces for sale.

I looked up. "Uhh...Actually, ma'am, I'm looking to buy a few gifts. My mom and my girlfriend both have birthdays coming up, and I'm looking for something very nice."

The woman smiled warmly at me. "Well, you've come to the right booth. We've some of the best prices, and everything's handcrafted," she said. "Let me know, if you find something you like."

I smiled back. "Thanks! I will."

Eventually, I found two necklaces that I really liked. One necklace that caught my eye would be perfect for my mother---an intricate open heart with a diamond accent at the top, on a dainty sterling silver chain. For Trixie, I chose a dainty intricately scrolled heart locket with a genuine pearl in the center. Inside, I had the following inscribed inside the locket: _"To Trixie, with all my love. Speed." _Then for Pops and my little brother, I found two finely-crafted leather wallets: one child-size, the other for an adult. "This'll do," I said, handing the woman my selections and paying for them.

She beamed happily. "I believe, your family and your girlfriend will be delighted with your choices."

Some twenty minutes later, I found Trixie at a nearby picnic table. "There you are!" Trixie exclaimed, getting up from her seat. "What took you so long?"

I grinned deviously. "Ohh, I just picked up a few surprises," I replied cagily, winking at Trixie. "Uh-uh-uh, Trix. You'll have to wait 'til dinner to find out what I got you!" Laughing, I playfully held the bag with my goodies away from Trixie's outstretched grasp.

Trixie playfully pouted. "Spoilsport!"

As we continued to chat, I glanced around. "Hey. Where's Spritle and Chim Chim?"

Trixie smiled. "I believe, they went off to win a stuffed animal for your mom."

I made a face. "We'd better go find them. Before Chim Chim starts a riot!"

We soon found Spritle at one of the game booths. It was the one where you threw a baseball at a tower of wooden milk bottles, and the little fellow was determined to win a prize. We arrived at the booth, just in time to see Spritle knock down the tower (although to this day, I still think the carnival game operator lent him a hand in knocking over the bottles!) and claim his prize: a humongous, light purple elephant with upturned trunk and a pink satin ribbon at its neck. "Hey, Speed! Look at what I won for Mom!" Spritle cried out, struggling to carry the huge stuffed animal. Chim Chim followed, hooting excitedly.

Trixie and I gaped at his load. "Holy elephants! What a...what a preposterous pachyderm! Spritle, that thing's as big as you are!" I exclaimed, with a laugh.

Spritle glared crossly back at me. "Well, that's why I need help carrying it!"

Almost immediately, Trixie snapped her fingers. "Wait! I have an idea," she said excitedly. "Why don't we take this stuff back to the car, so we can enjoy the rest of the afternoon on rides and such without worrying about losing anything?"

Spritle and I agreed, it was a good plan. "Great idea, Trix!" I said, and casually took the stuffed elephant from my little brother and hoisted it over one shoulder. "There! Now you can see where you're going, Spritle," I said to my little brother.

Spritle grinned mischievously. "OK! And I'm challenging you to the bumper cars!" he hollered happily.

I made a wry face. "Bumper cars, you say?" I retorted. "You're on!"

Well, suffice to say, after we secured our non-food items in the trunk of Trixie's car (the jewelry and wallets I put in Trixie's glove compartment for safekeeping), it was back to the rides. Initially, it was just me, Spritle and Chim Chim on the bumper cars, but I guess word quickly got around that "Speed Racer was in the house." I soon found myself under attack from a whole lot of local youngsters eager to take on their racing hero, and what started out as a brotherly challenge quickly turned into a bumper car free-for-all. Even Trixie joined in the merry mayhem, and I quickly found myself trying to fend her off as well. "AHHHH!" I yelped, as I felt myself being rear-ended.

It was my own sweet Trixie, who was the culprit. "Sorry, Speed!" she sweetly teased, giggling and her green eyes sparkling with merriment.

"Ohh, you're gonna be sorry!" I shot back, and immediately zipped around the floor in pursuit of my girl. And being a little devillish myself, I proceeded to sideswipe Spritle and a few other screaming, enthusiastic kids in the process.

And you're probably wondering, how I can call myself a professional racecar driver???

We spent the entire afternoon enjoying ourselves on the various rides and playing the various games ( I actually managed to win a white stuffed rabbit for Trixie, playing the balloon darts game). We got the food items that Mom had requested, and I even got Sparky a little something---a new monkey wrench, and a ratchet set for his tool box; heaven only knew, he needed some new tools, and I found just the perfect mechanic's helpers at a tool booth. But like all good things, the day eventually came to an end around five pm, and it was with some disappointment that the four of us headed home. Dinner would be on the table around six, and I knew Mom and Pops wouldn't be very happy with me and Spritle if we were even a minute late.

The odd thing was, was that by the time Trixie pulled up into our driveway there was no one home. "Hmm! That's funny. I would've thought by now, Pops would be home," I mused, as Trixie pulled her car up to the family garage.

Spritle leaned over the front seat. "Do you think he might've taken Mom out?" he asked, with thoughts of that morning's near-disaster running through his mind.

I shrugged carelessly. "Dunno," I replied, opening my door. "We'll find out soon enough, I suppose."

We went inside. Lying on the coffee table in the living room, was a note from my mom:

_"Speed--__Went to see Dr. Wilson, will be back soon. If you, Spritle, __Chim Chim and Trixie __return before your father and I do, there's a __pan of lasagne in the fridge, ready to be put in the oven. Hope you __enjoyed the carnival!_

_Love, __Mom"_

I raised an eyebrow after reading the note. "Huh! Well, that's a relief. Guess Mom was able to get an appointment with Dr. Wilson," I commented thoughtfully.

Trixie beamed. "Well, that's good," she agreed. "Hopefully, it's nothing serious."

"Yeah." I nodded, then started for the kitchen. "Hey, Trixie. Care to help me get the lasagne into the oven?"

She laughed. "Of course! Then we can put these pickles into the refrigerator for you mother," Trixie replied, carrying the bag of goodies with her into the kitchen.

"What about my elephant?" Spritle suddenly called out.

In reply, I stopped, turned back into the living room, and hefted the humongous pachyderm over my shoulder. I headed for the dining room, where I plunked the stuffed animal down in the chair that Mom usually sat in at mealtimes. "There you go, Spritle. That answer your question?" I called out, grinning madly.

Spritle grinned back. "Perfect!"

I had just popped the pan of lasagne into the oven when Spritle rushed into the kitchen some ten minutes later. "Speed! I think Mom and Pops are back, I just heard a car pull up outside!"

Trixie and I exchanged glances. "Let's get the table set for dinner!"

Dinnertime that night was a lively affair. According to Mom, her visit to the family doctor was uneventful, although she did say that Dr. Wilson thought it might be some kind of stomach bug but the blood work he'd done would tell the story; he'd have the results sometime next week. And she was totally overwhelmed with delight when she saw the humongous purple elephant sitting in her chair at the dinner table. "Oh, boys. You didn't--!" Mom exclaimed, wiping back a tear upon sighting the comically large stuffed animal.

I smirked. "Aw, that was Spritle's doing. He won it for you," I replied jovially, as everyone sat down and began to dig into the steaming hot lasagne I had just brought out from the kitchen.

Spritle beamed happily. "Yep! Won it all by myself, too!"

Pops chuckled. "Hah! Guess all that baseball tossing I've been doing with you, paid off. Eh, son?" he joked, and playfully reached over to clap a hand on Spritle's shoulder.

Mom was just overjoyed with her gift. "Why, thank you, Spritle. That makes me feel a lot better," she murmured happily. She then asked our dad to put the elephant somewhere else, so she could sit at the table. Pops of course naturally obliged her, and soon he was back at the table with us.

It was then, I decided to bring out my surprises for everyone. "Okay, I guess it's my turn to bring my gifts out," I said, and pulled from my lap the bag containing the women's jewelry and the two handcrafted leather wallets. I got up, walked over to my mother, and handed her a small, black velvet box. "This is from me, Mom. Sort of a 'happy early birthday' present," I said, eager to get her reaction. " Go ahead, open it."

Now, you can just imagine the look on our mom's face when she opened that little jewelry box and saw the necklace I'd chosen for her. She let out a loud gasp of shocked pleasure when her gaze fell upon the diamond and sterling silver heart pendant inside. "Oh, Speed sweetie. This is---it's beautiful!" Mom exclaimed, trying to hold back the tears. "I wasn't expecting something like this..."

"Like I said, consider it an early birthday present from me." I took the pendant out of the box, and fastened the necklace around Mom's neck. Pops looked on, pleased as punch, while Trixie, Spritle and Chim Chim watched with heightened interest.

Gingerly, Mom fingered the dainty pendant around her neck. Her eyes brimming with tears, she got up from her chair moments later and hugged me warmly. "Oh, Speed, thank you. Thank you, sweetie. You don't know how much this means to me," she said softly, her eyes still watering slightly.

"Yes, and he certainly has good taste," Pops interjected, with a laugh. "It certainly looks good on you, dear. The sparkle of that diamond definitely matches the one in your eyes!"

Mom gave him a wry look. "Flatterer!" she retorted, which elicited a laugh from the rest of us.

I proceeded to hand out the rest of my gifts. The wallets I gave to my dad and little brother, and both reacted with pleasure. At once, Pops proceeded to inspect his new wallet inside and out, marvelling at the expert craftsmanship. "Hmmm! Very nice! Very nice, indeed. Thank you, Speed." He began to transfer the contents of his old, very worn wallet into the new one.

I blushed—sort of. "Awww...Gee, you're welcome, Pops. I sort of remembered how you were grousing about needing a new wallet recently, so I got you one. The woman said, it was handmade in Mexico." Nervously, I ran a hand through my hair.

Spritle, meanwhile, was gleefully emptying his pockets for items to put into his new wallet. "Let's see, now...Oh! Here's a few bills left over from the carnival when I got me and Chim Chim those caramel apples...and what's in this pocket? Oh yeah, my loose change!" Quickly, he stuffed his leftover money into the billfold, and the loose coins into the change section.

"And what about me, Speed?" Trixie pouted, feeling a little...Left out.

A sly smirk crossed my face, and I sauntered nonchalantly over to her. "What, you think I'd leave my favorite girl out of the fun?" I joked, putting one arm around her shoulders. In my right hand, was the box containing the heart locket I'd gotten for her. "Not when her birthday's coming up, too..." Slowly, I brought my hand from behind my back, and told Trixie to close her eyes. I pressed the blue velvet jewelry box into her outstretched hand, then closed her fingers around it. "OK, Trix. You can open your eyes now."

She did so. At first, Trixie was puzzled by the box—until I urged her to open it. Trixie did so---and her jaw dropped wide in shocked disbelief. Her eyes flew wide open, and for several moments was unable to speak. "Happy early birthday, babe," I said softly, taking out the necklace. "Go ahead, read what's inside."

Still trembling a little, Trixie took the locket and opened it. As she read the inscription her green eyes began to mist, and she gazed lovingly at me afterwards. "I love you too, Speed," she murmured, closing the locket. She allowed me to slip the locket around her neck, then the next thing we knew we were locked in an embrace and kissing.

Which gave my little brother the last word. As usual. "MUSHHH!!!!!"

5555555555555555555555555555555555

Now, you're all probably wondering, when and how we found out about our mother being pregnant. Well, I'm about to get to that.

The next few days were uneventful enough—well, at least for us Racer men. Spritle had school, I had my rookie class instruction over at Thunderhead (and when I wasn't practicing or racing I was helping Pops and Sparky out in the shop), and Pops had his shop to attend to. But our dear, sweet mom...

...Well, let's just say that was another story altogether.

Not that Mom was totally cranky like she'd been the day Trixie and I took Spritle and Chim Chim out to the carnival. If anything, she was having an awfully hard time with headaches and nausea as the days passed, especially first thing in the morning. One day the nausea was so bad, it'd gotten to the point where our mother could barely get out of bed; at once, our dad decided to immediately remedy the situation by organizing us into his version of kp duty—the housework police! I'd take on the cooking and laundry duties (naturally I enlisted Trixie's help for this and boy, was she a real gem about it), Spritle the trash and dishes (with a little assist from me and our dad), and Pops would handle the vacuuming and general cleaning. The idea was to give Mom a break from her daily housework, until she felt more herself.

Of course, we all thought this was a temporary thing, and assumed that Mom would soon be back to her usual gentle, gracious self...

...Until she got "THE CALL."

As I remember it, it'd been a Wednesday afternoon, and the family was gathered in the living room. Spritle had come home from school early, as it'd been a half-day for him; he sat quietly on his favorite chair, doing a reading assignment. Mom was in her own chair, knitting (as usual). As for me and Pops?

Well, we had a serious discussion going on. Pops had reasoned that since he wasn't getting any younger and we were both aware of the fickle nature of our sport (meaning: there'd come a day when I'd be unable to race due to unforseen injury or whatnot), it was high time I got a backup plan in place. In fact, he'd begun to instruct me on some of the basics of running Racer Motors, and one idea we were bandying about was for me to take a few introductory college courses in the off-season. Things like business management, accounting...Courses of that sort. The coffee table was strewn with college brochures, and my head was spinning at the idea of trying to choose which would be the right school for me.

Guess you could say that with Rex out of the picture, I was Pops' heir apparent when it came to taking charge of the family business.

Not that I was opposed to the idea, mind you. I was more than eager to learn the ropes in my spare time. But which school would suit me best? "Gee, Pops. There's so many brochures here. How will I know which one's right?" I asked, as my dad and I pondered the different colleges.

Pops grunted. "That's why you do your research, son. You check each school out very carefully, before you decide."

We were so engrossed in our discussion, we didn't hear the phone in the hall. Mom did, however, and put down her knitting to go answer it. "I'll get it, boys," she called out, getting up from her chair.

At first Pops, Spritle, and I paid no mind as she took the call. _"Hello, Racer residence...Oh, Dr. Wilson! Yes...Yes..._"

The next thing we Racer men knew, Mom let out this loud, screeching _"WHAAAAT...???!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS, I'M WHAAAT...???!!!!"_

Then, the house went completely quiet. It was so quiet, I swear you could've heard a pin drop.

Pops and I exchanged alarmed looks. "Pops? Are we in trouble?" I quipped lightly, over Mom's rapid-fire chatter in the background.

My father glanced nervously towards the hallway. "I'm not sure, son. Let's just wait 'til yhour mother gets off the phone," Pops wryly replied. Judging by the many faces he was making, Mom definitely was making him very nervous, too.

Which didn't take very long, it seemed. A few minutes later we heard her say goodbye to whoever she'd been talking to, and then...ohh, boy. Mom was soon on us like a hurricane! _"DRAG-GONNN!!! I HAVE A BONE TO PICK WITH YOU. RIGHT NOW!!!!!"_

Immediately, Pops swallowed hard. His normally-ruddy face suddenly went three shades of pale, and he cringed in alarm. "I...I'm coming, dear!" he sputtered nervously, rising from his arm chair.

Spritle and I exchanged bewildered looks. Mom sure was up in arms about something..."Gee, Speed. Sounds like Pops is really in Mom's doghouse," my baby brother commented uneasily.

I nodded. "Yeah. I wonder why?"

We soon got our answer, as moments later I suddenly got called on the carpet as well. _"SPEED? WOULD YOU COME OVER HERE? I NEED TO HAVE A WORD WITH YOU AS WELL, YOUNG MAN--"_

It was my turn to go ash white in the face. Judging by my mom's tone of voice, I too was about to get a good verbal whupping. The bad part was, I honestly had no idea of what I'd done wrong this time. "What did I do??" I cried out, swallowing hard.

Spritle, meanwhile looked anxiously to Chim Chim. "Chim Chim, maybe we oughta go hide. Before Mom wants to...'Talk' to us, too!" he whispered hoarsely to the chimp, and Chim Chim softly hooted his agreement.

Then, the pair quickly scampered behind the sofa, out of our parents' view.

A few moments later Mom appeared in the living room, arms folded across her chest and looking quite cross. Pops trailed behind her, cowering in comic terror and looking rather frazzled. "Speed, I blame you and Elvis for all this!" Mom said sharply, giving me an odd look and pointing a finger directly at me.

Talk about Pops withering under our mom's glare! I began to cower just a bit, right then and there. What, me? Speed Racer, afraid of my own mother???...But then again, she can be scary at times---and now was definitely one of those times. "Blame me, for what??" I exclaimed, wide-eyed with shocked disbelief. "And what does Elvis have to do with this??"

My mother shot me a funny look. At that point, no one knew that she was putting on a real good act—she was that convincing. "You, mister, for recommending _'Clambake.' _And Elvis, for turning your father's lovelights on. To high beam!" she retorted, with one eye on Pops.

Before either Pops or I could say anything in reply, she turned on my father. "Dragon? I assure you, your plumbing is working quite well for your age. A little _too_ well, perhaps. The fact is..." Nobody noticed the tiny smirk breaking at the corners of Mom's mouth as she ragged Pops. There was a long dramatic pause, then she burst into a soft laugh. Her eyes sparkled, the way some pregnant women did at the thought of becoming mothers. "...The fact is, _I'm pregnant."_

For several minutes, we were just too stunned by Mom's unexpected announcement to react at first. Believe me when I say both Pops and my jaws opened as wide as the Grand Canyon in astonishment and amazement, and Mom was enjoying every second of the looks on our faces. "You're, _whaaat_???" I echoed, dumbfounded.

_"Whaaat???!!!"_ was all Pops could get out. For one of the few times that I can remember, my father was actually speechless! "Y-you're..._Pregnant???!!!!"_

My mother beamed happily. Boy, did she ever have me and Pops squirming around, and she knew it. "That was Dr. Wilson, with the results of my bloodwork. I'm about a month and a half along." Mom walked over to Pops, and affectionately slipped her arms around his neck. "Congratulations, Daddy Racer. For the fourth time," she said softly, her eyes misting a bit and smiling broadly up at her husband.

For a moment, I thought I saw Pops' eyes misting with joy as well. The look of alarm soon gave way to a goofy, "I'm gonna be a daddy again!" look. "I can't believe it. A father—again!" He chuckled heartily, and lovingly embraced our mother. "Number Four. Do you think we can handle it?" Pops chortled happily.

Mom lay her head on his shoulder, enjoying the warmth of his embrace. "I don't see why we couldn't. After all, we have raised three fine boys," she replied dreamily. "Although I'd like a girl, for a change."

In the background, I whacked my forehead with my hand and let out a comic groan. "OK. Break out the baby furniture, Racer Number Four is on the way!" I joked.

Spritle, meanwhile, popped up from his hiding place behind the sofa. More like, he and Chim Chim started jumping up and down gleefully at the news. "I knew it! I knew we'd get a sibling, the way they were rocking and rolling that night!" he hollered joyfully.

Our parents weren't exactly amused by his outburst, however. Especially Pops, who immediately began to yell at him. "SPRI-TLE!!!???? I KNEW YOU AND SPEED WERE EAVESDROPPING ON US...!!!"

At once, Spritle gulped. He suddenly grabbed Chim Chim by the paw, and began to make track when he saw Pops thundering towards him. "Run for your life, Chim Chim! We're in trouble now!" my little brother screeched, as he and Chim Chim raced past me.

"SPRITLE!!! GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE RASCAL!!! YOU'RE DARN RIGHT, YOU'RE IN TROUBLE...!!!" Pops bellowed, chasing the pair around the entire living room.

I stood next to my mom, watching the madcap antics of my father, baby brother, and the family chimp with amusement and laughing at them like there was no tomorrow. Who would've thought that something as insignificant as an Elvis Presley film, would bring about a family moment like this? It certainly was a time to remember, all right...

...But I agree with Mom. I hope it's not another boy again. Little brothers can be such a pain!

But then again...I hope Rex doesn't think of me that way. I wonder what he'll think when he finds out, he's gonna be a big brother all over again!

_FINIS_


End file.
